The various forms of the bible were written as a guide to the few who could read, do you agree?
Before the NT or the Koran there was the OT which is the Jewish bible, do you agree?
Before the Jewish incarnation there were other forms of religion that helped for the framework of the OT, possibly some of it came from written works and some from stories passed verbally, do you agree?
The use of scare tactics to manipulate people has been used since the dawn of time, the idea that god is merciful to those who follow his/her path is a tiny cherry on top of a massive cake of pain, doom, flagellation and suffering for those who don’t respect the laws imposed by the leaders who claim to be the instrument of the omnipresent one.
I fail to see how the idea of heaven/hell can be viewed literally in this day and age, back before we understood the world and its place in the universe and the multitude of different gods on offer this idea that one group supported the True God and those people over the hill had put their faith in a false prophet was an easy sell.
I have no problem with anyone believing in god but please understand that none of the incarnations of the good books were written by anything other than men in an attempt to explain the rules of being a decent citizen.
